KATHMANDU: Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration Pratibha Rawal has expressed the view that it will not be easy to return the money of depositors unless the government is tough on the borrowers of financial cooperatives.

She made this statement while responding to questions raised by lawmakers on the proposal seeking consideration on the Cooperatives (First Amendment) Bill, 2026 in today’s meeting of the National Assembly.

“If the government is not tough on recovering money from those who have taken loans from cooperatives, it will be difficult to return the money of savers,” she said, adding, “As a result, some strict provisions have been made for recovering loans.”

Minister Rawal clarified that the law has been introduced through an ordinance to address the suffering of thousands of depositors.

Earlier, MPs Padam Bahadur Pariyar, Samjhana Devkota, Shree Krishna Prasad Adhikari and Ram Kumari Jhankri expressed their views on the bill.

The meeting unanimously approved the proposal to consider the Cooperatives (First Amendment) Bill, 2026, received with a message from the House of Representatives.

The next meeting of the National Assembly will be held on at 12:15 pm on coming Monday.